The Princess Returns
So, hey there, Livejournal!
Sorry I have been MIA for... well, a year or so. I've been journaling elsewhere privately. The counselor I was seeing recommended that I write privately for the duration of my divorce, and work on sorting my thoughts out independently. A lot of my divorce has been spent learning how to be independent, trying to figure out who I am, learning how to trust, how to heal. I've had a lot of help along the way, and with each new day I am trying to be stronger, and strengthen the bonds I have with my daughter, my family, my friends, and of course, my significant other.
Our divorce was finalized on August 4th. It felt rather anti-climactic. I think we were both just ready for it to be over and done with. Since then, I've spent the past couple of weeks trying to clear my mind, to really let that settle in. I've slowly started trying to use my maiden name. I've had to practice writing my signature with it. I've yet to make the dreaded trip to the Social Security Administration office. (Which would have been dealt with this week, had I not had a wisdom tooth pulled on Monday, putting me on the couch for most of the week and leaving me with school and work to catch up on.) Just this morning, I reached out to Kat, Cole's SO, and apologized for the grief the past few months must have caused her, and let her know that there's no hard feelings. I'm just so ready for all of the negativity to be gone. My anti-relationship with Cole causes such an unbalance for me. I don't want to raise Isabella in that kind of atmosphere. I can only hope that desire is mutual. I'm at a point where I want the positive to help return the balance, in whatever form that may take- apologies, forgiveness, acceptance, understanding... the only way I can describe it is that my life has reset, and I need all the wrongs to be made right.
Izzy is well on her way to little kid-dom. She can no longer be called a baby- she'll be quick to tell you she isn't one, too. We're still working on potty training, and hopefully now that the divorce is over and we're settling into a consistent schedule, big girl panties will be right around the corner. I do what I can to make sure I have plenty of time to devote to her when she is with me Friday through Monday morning. Every weekend we do a different art/craft project (painting, drawing pictures, coloring, playdough) and next weekend we are going to ArtQuest at the Frist. So exciting!! We go to the library every Saturday morning, and have lunch somewhere fun. Now that the weather is cooling down, I think we might have a picnic. She has been asking to "do ballet", so I am taking her to see The Nutcracker in December, and if she seems interested still, then maybe ballet lessons after her birthday in February, if Daddy will cooperate. ^_^
I am very excited about next week. Though I'm a little sad to miss Dragon*Con yet again, I have that Thursday through Monday off work, and Izzy is with me for the duration while Cole is at D*C working. I'm thrilled to have almost an entire week to play, learn, and just hang out with her. She is growing into such a brilliant, beautiful little girl. I've never seen a child that young with such a sharp mind and keen awareness- but my Mom says she's just like I was. I don't know if I should be comforted or worried by that. *lol* Her interests range in everything from dinosaurs to robots to monkeys to babies to animals.... she likes a lot of different things.
Her universal favorite though, is music. She continues to have a heavy interest in playing instruments and singing. For a two year-old, she can pitch match like no other. It's crazy. Ask her to sing a song with you, she'll pickup whatever key you're singing in and match it. Maybe we should skip the ballet lessons and put her in voice lessons?
So life in Izzy land is good. Life in Target land is... bearable. I passed the one year mark in July, and though I've been pretty regularly looking for something more consistent with better pay, I've yet to find anything. At this point, the holiday busy season is rapidly approaching, so I may as well tough it out for the somewhat decent paychecks (albeit terrible hours) until after New Years, and pick my search back up. On the other hand, if I could manage to just stay at Target until I finish school, having 3.5 years of retail experience at one employer would look really nice on my resume.
In September, I started working for a Green Hills mom who wanted to start her own business. Her company is called Rouse House Kids, and she sells customized reversible clothing in sizes 6m to 5T and accessories. You can pick from different monograms and appliques to personalize your custom outfit. The only problem with her plan was that she isn't the greatest sewer- so guess where I come in? Yup. I do all of the sewing. Some months it is only a couple of garments, after a big party, though, I can have anywhere from 10 to 30 garments! The pay is not that great... but she has been gaining a lot of recognition, and has been approached by several stores for wholesale! After her new baby comes in October, I am hoping she will focus on expanding, and I can take more of a Production Management role for her- another excellent position for my resume. ^_^
After MTAC in April, I realized that, while taking a year off and stepping down as a Senior Director was probably an infinitely wise decision for my health and sanity, I was ready to get back in the action. I wasn't terribly interested in the con itself- bored, in fact- and spent the entire weekend feeling underutilized. So, I did some brainstorming, looked for an issue that I felt needed to be addressed, and found the perfect position that will keep me busy and hopefully take care of the ongoing problems that Programming has been experiencing as a result of growing pains. I'm excited to be back, and am looking forward to the passing of GMX so we can start focusing in on MTAC. (Not that I don't love GMX, too, but MTAC is more of my baby.)
In January, I took the plunge and went back to school. I've never been happier about a decision. I'm pursuing a B.A. in Fashion Design and Merchandising at International Academy of Design & Technology. I'm in my Third Quarter currently, and have managed to maintain all A's this quarter, as well as last quarter. If I keep this up, I may just graduate Valedictorian- and we all know I wouldn't have it any other way. My instructors are professionals with various backgrounds and a wealth of knowledge. My Sketching instructor this quarter graduated from SCAD, went on to get her Master's from Paulimoda Institute in Italy, and worked in NYC for Anna Sui. Another instructor was Sr. Visual Merchandiser for Nordstrom's flagship store in Chicago for 9 years. Amazing stuff! I can only hope that I gain all of the knowledge and experience from them that I can in my 3 short years there. After school... well, I still haven't quite figured that part out yet. The parts I have figured out though, are that I want to design, and I want to do it well. I want to design clothes that make women feel confident, sexy, pretty- clothes that helps them express who they are, not just what the industry tells them they should be. And if the day comes where my collections are shown at Fashion Week, and I *am* the industry, I will continue to listen to who my customers are telling me they are, who they want to be. That will always be my goal. The other things I want my brand to focus on is being socially responsible, ethical and honest in practice, and supporting Nashville as a fashion center. There's been so much talent in the Nashville fashion scene in the past few years, and more and more talent blooms here each year. As part of my commitment, I will be posting regularly about fashion and sewing in my Sewing blog, The Muslin Extremist, which sadly has been as neglected as this journal this past year.
So, there you have it. Izzy, work, and school have been consuming the majority of my time. And now my pain meds are making me pass out. Good night, LJ-ers!
Sorry I have been MIA for... well, a year or so. I've been journaling elsewhere privately. The counselor I was seeing recommended that I write privately for the duration of my divorce, and work on sorting my thoughts out independently. A lot of my divorce has been spent learning how to be independent, trying to figure out who I am, learning how to trust, how to heal. I've had a lot of help along the way, and with each new day I am trying to be stronger, and strengthen the bonds I have with my daughter, my family, my friends, and of course, my significant other.
Our divorce was finalized on August 4th. It felt rather anti-climactic. I think we were both just ready for it to be over and done with. Since then, I've spent the past couple of weeks trying to clear my mind, to really let that settle in. I've slowly started trying to use my maiden name. I've had to practice writing my signature with it. I've yet to make the dreaded trip to the Social Security Administration office. (Which would have been dealt with this week, had I not had a wisdom tooth pulled on Monday, putting me on the couch for most of the week and leaving me with school and work to catch up on.) Just this morning, I reached out to Kat, Cole's SO, and apologized for the grief the past few months must have caused her, and let her know that there's no hard feelings. I'm just so ready for all of the negativity to be gone. My anti-relationship with Cole causes such an unbalance for me. I don't want to raise Isabella in that kind of atmosphere. I can only hope that desire is mutual. I'm at a point where I want the positive to help return the balance, in whatever form that may take- apologies, forgiveness, acceptance, understanding... the only way I can describe it is that my life has reset, and I need all the wrongs to be made right.
Izzy is well on her way to little kid-dom. She can no longer be called a baby- she'll be quick to tell you she isn't one, too. We're still working on potty training, and hopefully now that the divorce is over and we're settling into a consistent schedule, big girl panties will be right around the corner. I do what I can to make sure I have plenty of time to devote to her when she is with me Friday through Monday morning. Every weekend we do a different art/craft project (painting, drawing pictures, coloring, playdough) and next weekend we are going to ArtQuest at the Frist. So exciting!! We go to the library every Saturday morning, and have lunch somewhere fun. Now that the weather is cooling down, I think we might have a picnic. She has been asking to "do ballet", so I am taking her to see The Nutcracker in December, and if she seems interested still, then maybe ballet lessons after her birthday in February, if Daddy will cooperate. ^_^
I am very excited about next week. Though I'm a little sad to miss Dragon*Con yet again, I have that Thursday through Monday off work, and Izzy is with me for the duration while Cole is at D*C working. I'm thrilled to have almost an entire week to play, learn, and just hang out with her. She is growing into such a brilliant, beautiful little girl. I've never seen a child that young with such a sharp mind and keen awareness- but my Mom says she's just like I was. I don't know if I should be comforted or worried by that. *lol* Her interests range in everything from dinosaurs to robots to monkeys to babies to animals.... she likes a lot of different things.
Her universal favorite though, is music. She continues to have a heavy interest in playing instruments and singing. For a two year-old, she can pitch match like no other. It's crazy. Ask her to sing a song with you, she'll pickup whatever key you're singing in and match it. Maybe we should skip the ballet lessons and put her in voice lessons?
So life in Izzy land is good. Life in Target land is... bearable. I passed the one year mark in July, and though I've been pretty regularly looking for something more consistent with better pay, I've yet to find anything. At this point, the holiday busy season is rapidly approaching, so I may as well tough it out for the somewhat decent paychecks (albeit terrible hours) until after New Years, and pick my search back up. On the other hand, if I could manage to just stay at Target until I finish school, having 3.5 years of retail experience at one employer would look really nice on my resume.
In September, I started working for a Green Hills mom who wanted to start her own business. Her company is called Rouse House Kids, and she sells customized reversible clothing in sizes 6m to 5T and accessories. You can pick from different monograms and appliques to personalize your custom outfit. The only problem with her plan was that she isn't the greatest sewer- so guess where I come in? Yup. I do all of the sewing. Some months it is only a couple of garments, after a big party, though, I can have anywhere from 10 to 30 garments! The pay is not that great... but she has been gaining a lot of recognition, and has been approached by several stores for wholesale! After her new baby comes in October, I am hoping she will focus on expanding, and I can take more of a Production Management role for her- another excellent position for my resume. ^_^
After MTAC in April, I realized that, while taking a year off and stepping down as a Senior Director was probably an infinitely wise decision for my health and sanity, I was ready to get back in the action. I wasn't terribly interested in the con itself- bored, in fact- and spent the entire weekend feeling underutilized. So, I did some brainstorming, looked for an issue that I felt needed to be addressed, and found the perfect position that will keep me busy and hopefully take care of the ongoing problems that Programming has been experiencing as a result of growing pains. I'm excited to be back, and am looking forward to the passing of GMX so we can start focusing in on MTAC. (Not that I don't love GMX, too, but MTAC is more of my baby.)
In January, I took the plunge and went back to school. I've never been happier about a decision. I'm pursuing a B.A. in Fashion Design and Merchandising at International Academy of Design & Technology. I'm in my Third Quarter currently, and have managed to maintain all A's this quarter, as well as last quarter. If I keep this up, I may just graduate Valedictorian- and we all know I wouldn't have it any other way. My instructors are professionals with various backgrounds and a wealth of knowledge. My Sketching instructor this quarter graduated from SCAD, went on to get her Master's from Paulimoda Institute in Italy, and worked in NYC for Anna Sui. Another instructor was Sr. Visual Merchandiser for Nordstrom's flagship store in Chicago for 9 years. Amazing stuff! I can only hope that I gain all of the knowledge and experience from them that I can in my 3 short years there. After school... well, I still haven't quite figured that part out yet. The parts I have figured out though, are that I want to design, and I want to do it well. I want to design clothes that make women feel confident, sexy, pretty- clothes that helps them express who they are, not just what the industry tells them they should be. And if the day comes where my collections are shown at Fashion Week, and I *am* the industry, I will continue to listen to who my customers are telling me they are, who they want to be. That will always be my goal. The other things I want my brand to focus on is being socially responsible, ethical and honest in practice, and supporting Nashville as a fashion center. There's been so much talent in the Nashville fashion scene in the past few years, and more and more talent blooms here each year. As part of my commitment, I will be posting regularly about fashion and sewing in my Sewing blog, The Muslin Extremist, which sadly has been as neglected as this journal this past year.
So, there you have it. Izzy, work, and school have been consuming the majority of my time. And now my pain meds are making me pass out. Good night, LJ-ers!